Page 37 - CNF March 2021 Full Newspaper

Branding for Clients - and Employees -

Even More Important During a Pandemic

BY VANESSA ORR “We ask a lot of ques-
tions about who they are
For more than 20 years, and how they want to be
Gunn Media has been pro- perceived by the end-
viding branding expertise to user,” added Perkins of
clients. Originally started in their process. “We have
Canada by Shawn Rivers, a access to hundreds of
former defenseman for the thousands of different
Tampa Bay Lightning, the products, so we use this
agency opened a second knowledge to whittle it
location in Tampa, FL in down.”
March 2020. As times have changed,
“It’s every business owner’s Shawn Rivers so have the types of serv-
dream to open a new loca- ices that clients expect.
tion during a pandemic,” “One area that has
laughed Rivers. “While we had expected evolved over the years is design,” said
to do a lot more face-to-face engagement Rivers. “We’ve come across plenty of party, for example, companies are using gifts to clients and employees, which
to entrench ourselves in the community, clients who have nothing but a name and those budgets to provide appreciation means we’re putting more thought into
we’ve still been quite pleased with the some clip art that cousin Johnny did for gifts. packaging, costs and logistics than
clients we’ve gained, and are very them, which is impossible to work with. “These work so much better than just before,” said Rivers.
encouraged about what our future holds We have three full-time designers on an email, especially if the CEO or man- The company is excited about all of
in the state.” staff to help; even if clients are starting ager includes a personal note,” Perkins the opportunities it sees in Florida,
Rivers’ father worked in the branding from scratch, we can get them into the added. “It’s nice for employees who are working with everyone from healthcare
industry, and he grew up putting togeth- game.” working from home to realize that every- practices to the cannabis industry.
er trophies and plaques, and working on He adds that quality counts, which is one is in the same situation and that they “While we’re relatively new to the area,
silkscreen, embroidery and laser- why it’s important for clients to invest are appreciated; it really brings the cor- we’ve been doing this for a long time,
engraved products. After playing profes- their money well. porate culture home.” and we’re excited to share our experi-
sional hockey for nine years, he returned “It’s better to do fewer products that To this end, Gunn Media has expand- ence,” said Rivers.
to his roots, and has since moved the are more poignant and are of higher ed into the logistics arena. “Where
company from products used mainly at quality,” he said. “Instead of spending clients used to accept orders in their To learn more, visit Gunn Media at
events and trade shows to ad specialties $10,000 on 10,000 cheap pens, they shipping departments, now they prefer www.gunmedia.ca.
and corporate clothing. might want to target more strategic that we individually box and send these
“As we’ve evolved over the years, clients with a better product; something
we’ve added a lot more products, talent they won’t just throw in the garbage.”
and employees,” he said. Some of the most-demand items are What Makes Legal Departments
When Janet Perkins, who worked at focused on technology, even with people
the company for 13 years, moved with working from home. “The demand is
her family to Florida, Rivers saw it as a greater than ever for phone chargers and Go from Good to Great?
natural progression of his business. adapters, phone lights for Zoom calls
Perkins now oversees the Florida office. and even mugs that plug into the com- Ever wonder what is the easiest way to make your
Having been in the business for so puter to keep your coffee warm,” said legal department better? The short answer is creat-
many years, the team knows the impor- Rivers, adding that his favorite is a ing checklists for everything you can. And if you
tance of branding and how to help device that covers the camera on a laptop ever wondered how you can save legal department
clients stand out. so that workers can control the narrative money? The answer is a well-established library of
“Our entire business model is set up on Zoom calls. templates.
around working with clients who view While companies are used to branding Checklists are used from performing surgeries to
marketing and brand awareness as top- for clients, one area that is often over- putting a man on the moon, so why not have a
of-mind for them growing their busi- looked is branding for employees. checklist for your attorneys. It is obvious that
ness,” said Rivers. “Branding carries a lot “Now that people aren’t in the office, checklists work well in regular situations, but espe-
of weight and credibility; look at the suc- it’s important to boost morale to keep cially well in highly complex situations. “They catch
cess of companies like Reebok and Nike. employees engaged,” said Perkins. “Our mental flaws inherent in all of us – flaws of memory
“We help our clients determine how to clients are requesting more of an ‘experi- and attention and thoroughness,” said Dr. Atul BY BEN ASSAD MIRZA,
best integrate into the market to reach ence’ for their employees; for example, Gawande (surgeon), the author of The Checklist ESQ., LLM, CPA,
their demographic, whether that’s their something that comes in a kit that they Manifesto. There are “simple problems” like what to MPHA, CHC
own client base or their employees,” he can unbox during a Zoom meeting.” do when entering into an independent consulting
added. “That’s where we really shine.” Instead of hosting a large Christmas agreement or baking a cake. There are “complicated problems” like what to do
when a specific situation arises, like negotiating an intricate scope of work or
an operating agreement. In the world of law, we are besieged by “simple prob-
lems” more often than “complicated problems,” like what essential clauses go
into an affirmative defense to raise when a particular claim is filed, or compli-
cated ones, like how to navigate Stark and Antikickback Statutes (AKS) or how
to negotiate toward a particular outcome in a settlement, while minimizing risk.
Our firm uses checklists for precisely these sorts of scenarios.
One way to save time and money is to use templates. The rule of thumb is if
you have a particular type of contract or pleading that arises more than 3 times
in any given year, the legal department should have a template to accommodate
that situation. The templates are not the same as a checklist, although many
practitioners use them as that. Simply make a list of what business relationships
your company strikes regularly and frequently and create a relevant library of
templates. Our firm helps clients build a library of templates that are cus-
tomized to the clients’ needs. We regularly use our internal template library to
get our clients what they need faster and at a lower cost.
To find out more about how you can use checklists to raise the level of per-
formance and speed in your legal affairs, join us at a seminar on Tuesday, March
2. Register at https://bit.ly/2Ydow5h.
If you have a unique scenario, send me an email at
BAM@HealthcareAttorney.Net.

Ben Assad Mirza, Esq., Healthcare Law Partners, LLC,
can be reached at (954)445-5503.

12 March 2021 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News